Heather Byington, NBCT

Heather Byington is an NBCT in the area of English as a New Language and also a Facilitator for National Board Candidates. She is bilingual and bi-literate in English and in Spanish. Since 1997, she has taught students in almost every grade level in various education models, including dual language education. She currently teaches fifth grade and is an English Language Arts Coach at Lydia Hawk Elementary, a high needs school in Lacey, Washington. She engages in state level work advocating for the needs of English learners and at-risk learners.

In mid-October, I opened an email containing National Board renewal scores and saw “Congratulations!” It was a high point of my day. The 129 likes and 23 congratulating comments on Facebook left me with warm fuzzies, but as I sit and reflect on the most rewarding part of this renewal journey, I have to admit that the ways that I’ve become a better teacher through completing the National Board certification and the renewal process mean the most. Entering my initial certification process nine years ago, I saw myself as a strong teacher. The process made me analyze my teaching. I…